Ask Sam – BYOD Feedback

I’ve been working through variety of software licensing issues in the Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) space and I’m not seeing that the software publishing community has caught up with the variety of systems and environments that companies need to deal with today. But I want to hear from you – especially those of you in the LinkedIn groups – what issues are you dealing with? Have you been able to establish a licensing program that you feel meets your organization’s BYOD requirements?

This licensing option seems to address many issues, but perhaps not all. Have any of you implemented the “per user” licensing options? Do the software licenses work effectively for your organization?

One limitation with this licensing structure is that the local install of Windows Enterprise is only allowed on devices that have existing OEM licenses of Windows 7/8/8.1 Pro or Enterprise or a Windows tablet that is less than 10.1 inches. This leaves out Macintosh operating systems (which, generally Microsoft has considered as qualified operating systems in other licensing options) and home based editions of Windows (Windows 8 “core” as well as Windows 7 Starter, Home Basic, Home Premium or Ultimate editions). Has this limitation had any impact on your organizations use of the licenses?

Are your organizations finding that your users primary work devices are Windows 7/8/8.1 Pro or Enterprise (and you can use the Windows Software Assurance per User, or are your organizations moving away from having a primary organizationally supplied device, in which case you need to use the Windows VDA per user license?

What’s your experience, I’m dying to know! Are there other licenses you believe need to include support for the BYOD market to allow your organization to support more user supplied devices in the office? Let me know – provide your thoughts below, I’ll consolidate them and share them back out in an Ask Sam blog post in a few weeks.